Traction hitch



June 13, 1950 c. E. SPENCER 2,511,182 I TRACTION urrcu Filed Aug. 25, 1948 Y 5 Sheets-sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

YC/zeater E J vzrzcer B C. E. SPENCER TRACTION HITCH June 13, 1950 s. Shee'ts -Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 25, 1948 INVENTOR. C/mqtzr E JJamcar BY June 13, 1950 c. E. SPENCER TRACTION HITCH Filed Aug. 25, 1948 Sheets-Sheet 3 JNVENTOR, 6726016! I Spencer /M w/w Patented June 13, 1950 v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in a traction hitch.

This device is for the purpose of applying traction to broken limbs and particularly useful in first aid to those injured in accidents. It is the purpose of my invention to provide a simple compact device of this character which takes up very little space and which can be used on the limbs of an injured person in order to stretch out a broken limb without constriction of blood flow and keep the fractured bones from causing further injury until the injured person can be delivered to a hospital. These devices are primarily intended for use by patrolmen who are generally faced with the necessity of providing first aid at the scene of an accident.

The nature and advantages of my invention will appear more fully from the following description and the accompanying drawings, It should be understood however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a general plan view of the device;

Figure 2 is a plan view illustrating the device applied to the hand;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the device applied to the foot and showing the opposite side of the device;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on the line 44 of Figure 2 with the hand left out;

Figure 5 is a view looking into the device from the line '5-5 of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating how the device is secured to a frame to stretch the arm.

Referring now to the drawings, my improved traction hitch comprises a plurality of straps secured together to form the means for securing the device about the hand or foot of an injured limb, together with a pad which carries strap attaching members by which the straps can be tightened on the hand or foot. The pad unit is shown at 6 in Figure l of the drawings, while the strap unit is indicated generally by the numeral 1. The pad unit 6 comprises a soft fabric pad 8 of felt or the like, on the back of which a plurality of straps 9 and 10 are sewed. The strap 9 is doubled upon itself to provide a loop II in which two securing rings I2 and I3 are mounted. The strap I0 i composed of a single strip of material which is folded to mount two buckles I 4 and at its opposite ends, the ends being sewed down as indicated at l6 and 17. This strip is doubled over as shown best by Figures 1 and 2, so that the two buckles are at right angles to each other. A rivet l8 secures the strap II] in its folded over position to the strap 9. Preferably the straps 9 and 10 are constructed of heavy canvas webbing so as to have ample strength and so that they may be washed and cleaned without difficulty.

The strap unit I is composed of two wide relatively short straps I 9 and 20 laid across each other and stitched together and to a narrow strap unit 2| which is two feet or more in length. In assembling the device upon an injured limb for the purpose of applying traction thereto, the ends of the straps l9 and 20 are threaded through the buckles I4 and I5 as shown in Figure 1, so that the pad 8 is drawn against one side of the hand or foot with the joined ends of the straps l9 and 20 on the opposite side of the hand or foot. the straps 9 and 2| being faced in the same direction away from the broken limb. The strap 2| can then be passed around a part of a traction frame 22 or some other support, and through the rings l2 and 13 in the manner shown in Figure 4, so that it can be used to draw the limb toward the support and hold it stretched. In this way the limb can be kept in a stretched position until proper medical attention can be given.

This device has the parts so arranged that when it is applied to a hand, it does not exert pressure in such a way as to cut off the flow of :blood from the hand. There is no pressure on the veins in the wrist. The padding 8, as shown by Figure 6, protects the skin from the metal buckles and rings. The enlargement of the hand where it joins the wrist is Well fitted by the straps l9 and 2t! when they are mounted at right angles to each other on the strap 2! and secured to the buckles l4 and I5. When the hitch is applied to the foot, the straps l9 and 20 apply substantially equal pressure to the instep and the area above the heel. The ankle bone is free from any pressure. The paddin protects the ankle from the buckles. By lengthening or shortening the straps l9 and 2B. the pressure is evenly divided between the instep and the back of the foot above the heel for any size of foot. One distinct advantage of this traction hitch lies in the fact that it works alike for large or small patients and equally well on hands and feet.

The traction hitch as described above is in use and has proven quite satisfactory as a simple and convenient means by which persons such as State highway patrolmen and others who are frequently called upon to give first aid, may stretch out the broken limbs of injured persons and keep them from :being further injured while the injured individual is being moved to a hospital for medical treatment. The hitch makes a small compact flat bundle so that several of them may be carried in a small space. They are relatively inexpensive and are easy to apply.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A device for applying traction to the limbs of a patient comprising a pad, straps thereon with buckles afiixed thereto and directed at substantially a right angle to each other, a strap attaching means affixed to the straps where they meet and directed away from the buckles, a pair of short straps connected together at right angles to each other and adapted to be attached to the buckles to form an open pocket for the hand or foot, said short straps having a third long strap secured to them at their meeting point for attachment to said strap attaching means.

2. In a device for applying traction to the limbs of a patient, the combination of a pair of buckles,

flexible strap means securing said buckles to each 25 other and holding them at substantially right angles to each other, two short straps joined 4 together at substantially right angles to each other and having free ends to pass through the buckles, and a traction applying device adjustable in length connecting the joined portion of said short straps to said strap means.

3. In a device for applying traction to the limbs of a patient, the combination of a pair of buckles, flexible strap means securing said buckles to each other and. holding them at substantially right angles to each other, a soft pad mounting the strap means and buckles for preventing their contact with the patient, two short straps joined together at substantially right angles to each other and having free ends to pass through the buckles, and a traction applying device adjustable in length connecting the joined portion of said short straps to said strap means.

CHESTER E. SPENCER.

REFERENCES CITED Name Date Ellis Apr. 30, 1940 Number 

